The invention relates, generally, to fans and, more particularly, to an improved fan blade design for a ceiling fan.
As is well-known in the art, ceiling fans are secured to the ceiling of a room with the axis of rotation of the blades perpendicular thereto. The fan blades extend radially from the axis of rotation with the blade faces arranged at an angle relative to the horizontal plane such that as the blades rotate through the air they propel the airstream downward in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of rotation. This typical design results in laminar flow of the air.
Laminar air flow in the ceiling fan application is less than desirable for two reasons. First, because the air stream is directed substantially downward, the area affected by the air stream is substantially limited to the area traversed by the fan blades. Second, the resulting laminar flow of the airstream does not produce effective heat transfer. In view of the above-noted shortcomings, there is a need in the fan design art for a fan blade design which can more effectively effect heat transfer over a wider area than the known designs.